Damn Yankees

On Sunday, my aunt and I went with a friend of hers to see Damn Yankees. I have only seen two plays in my life, the first one was A Christmas Carol, about 3 years ago. I think that out of the two, Damn Yankees was the better one.

Now while talking to my aunt on the way home from the play she told me that there are a few things that make up a play, not just the actors and whether it was good or not. She told me there is set design, costumes, dancing, music/singing, the actors/actresses, and that storyline itself. I am going to tell you what I think of them individually.

First there is the set design, because that is the first thing you see when you sit down and get ready to watch the play. This set design was unlike any that I have seen, they had different parts hid behind others and things sliding into place. It was pretty amazing. Not like any high school play I saw being put together. The painting on these set pieces was pretty cool as well. The living room set looked like a living room, as did the locker room. The props went along with everything as well and in the living room they had a "pretend" television and it looked like the real thing. Also the way everything was designed made you really feel like you were back in the 1950's, truly incredible.

Next there is music/singing, the band that started before anyone came out was really talented. Some of the tunes they were playing I had heard before, so that was pretty cool. After the band played for a few minutes, a few of the characters came out to sing the National Anthem, we all stood and sang with them, that too was pretty neat. All the actors sang really well, with the exception of one of the guys that played Smokey, only because I think that he was the one guy that sang the soprano part in the song "We've Got Heart". It was just awkward for me, I mean that is how it was supposed to sound but coming from him, a little odd. Other than that everyone fit the character they were meant to play, and vocally they were great.

Now for the costumes, they really looked like there were out of the 1950's as well. The uniforms for the Senators really looked like something that the team would have worn back in the 50s. The men looked sharp, when dressed up and the women looked fancy all the time. Even the "bat girls" looked cute.

Aside from the music and singing, the dancing was just as good. Everything was choreographed just right, and all the dancers were fantastic. My favorite dancers were, the baseball players, the bat girls, and Lola. They danced with passion, and you could tell they were enjoying every minute of the dances.

The actors and actresses we wonderful, I did have my favorites. I loved Jeff Diebold, who played young Joe Hardy. I also liked Amy Dolan, who played Meg Boyd. They were the main characters that I liked. I also liked a few of the baseball players like, Mike Miserendino who played Henry and Jon Landvick who played Smokey. Other characters I liked was Applegate played by David Kovac, Gloria Thorpe played by Lucinda Johnston and last but not least Van Buren played by David Elliot.

Lastly, the storyline. I thought it was a great story about the underdogs of baseball who get a miracle that pulls them out of a slump. It was all put together fantastically. The parts were cast to the right people that fit the parts. Overall it was the better of the two plays that I have seen.

If you're looking for a good play/musical I strongly recommend Damn Yankees.